It’s an unnerving time for Africa’s banking industry. On August 19, the ratings agency Moody’s announced it had downgraded by a notch the risk rating of South Africa’s four biggest banks – FirstRand, Standard…

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce is under pressure, with the airline flagging a $300 million half-year loss.
Alan Porritt/AAPDecember 5, 2013

Qantas has flagged deteriorating trading conditions and a potential A$300 million half-year loss in a statement to the market that has sent its share price tumbling. The airline has stepped up its cost…

Collapsing business deals, massive financial losses, and a “junk” rating have made recent months a nightmare for the Co-op Bank. In March it announced losses of £634m for the 2012 financial year, largely…

Evaluating the creditworthiness of countries is far from an exact science, yet the influence of credit ratings agencies is extraordinary. Recently, the UK government’s debt rating has been downgraded by…

The UK’s former AAA credit rating is no more. Moody, a tyrant of the credit rating system, decided that a downgrade was in order from AAA to AA1 for the first time since 1978. The pound fell in a state…

Subprime ratings have come back to haunt Standard and Poor’s, which is now facing civil action from the US government.
AAPFebruary 6, 2013

The decision by Standard and Poor’s to downgrade the debt of nine Eurozone countries last week, followed by the inevitable downgrade of the Eurozone rescue fund two days later, raises important questions…

The move by international ratings agency Moody’s to cut Italy’s credit rating for the first time in two decades will do little to ease concerns about the Eurozone’s debt crisis, despite global markets…

Washington lawmakers in the US House of Representatives have passed an agreement hammered out between Republican and Democrat leaders designed to avert a US debt default. The move is a further step towards…

Standard & Poor’s downgraded Greece’s sovereign debt rating by three notches on Monday, reflecting its view that it would be next to impossible to imagine a scenario where the country could restructure…

The behaviour of credit rating agencies is back in the spotlight, as Portugal struggles with its large debt burden. Credit rating agency Fitch has copped some criticism for cutting Portugal’s credit rating…